A New Life is Waiting
by Jenstc2003
Summary: Mick and Beth at a major turning point- literally.


A New Life Is Waiting- Fan Fic Contest Entry  
Disclaimer- I don't own them- but sometimes I think they sort of own me…  
Rating: R  
Notes: For the East Coast Con Fan Fic contest.  
I just learned that this placed third among non- attendees and couldn't be happier!

*Beth*  
I can't help laughing as Mick feeds me the last bite of my tiramisu. We're sitting at a small café on the Rive Gauche, and I laugh when I catch him savoring the look on my face as I taste it, as he so often does when I'm eating. The wistful, goofy smile on his face makes the already rich dessert that much more decadent, and I put on something of a show to demonstrate how much I like it, moaning and sighing as I finish it. I only wish he could enjoy the treat himself. He hasn't been able to do that for just over a year now- not since he'd become a vampire again- and I know he misses it.

As soon as the bill is paid, he takes my hand and leads me through the moonlit streets of Paris, dodging the summer crowds as we go, just wandering for a couple of hours, checking out a couple of late closing shops and listening to a song or two at Chez Guillame- an old time bar where Mick had once played a couple of gigs with a local band when he was here during the war. The place is one of his favorite spots in Paris, or so he'd told me a hundred times once we decided where we wanted to go on our honeymoon. He'd been almost as excited about stopping there as he was about the rest.

Soon, we're in a cab back to the Georges Cinq, Mick's favorite hotel in Paris, and the first full night of our married life. I've waited for this night for the last six months- ever since he had placed a two carat diamond on my hand as we sat together under the Christmas tree after midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Now, it's time for my new life to begin in earnest, and the last few hours seem like the prelude to a long- awaited kiss.

We'd been married late this afternoon by a priest Josef had known for a couple of centuries in a small, Gothic-style chapel in Montmartre, and will be spending the next three weeks in the Georges Cinq as our honeymoon, courtesy of Josef, who had connections with the reservations staff and got us the honeymoon suite. The ceremony itself was everything I could have imagined. Simone- who has become one of my dearest friends in the months since we first met- had agreed to stand up with me, and Josef had been Best Man. Of course, it'd be a little hard to hide the fact that the Groom and Best Man aren't eating cake at a reception, so we'd had a deliberately small gathering of our close friends instead. In fact, we'd just had Guillermo, Logan, Josef, Simone, and Kira- Guillermo's girlfriend of the moment.

You could say the party was small but mighty- we all celebrated together for hours in the hotel bar, which Mick had rented out for us, dancing and generally enjoying ourselves. I'd even gotten more than a little drunk, which had given Mick and Josef no end of amusement. Finally, at 10P, Mick and I left the hotel to have a private dinner, while the others tossed bird seed and laughed at us. Everyone knew why we wanted to do this- but no one mentioned it. No one had to.

*Mick*  
She'd wanted to do it all this way- the nice, if private, church wedding; the strictly limited guest list; and her favorite meal in a great restaurant on the Rive Gauche, followed by the moment of truth. She'd decided her own fate. If she is going to skip on to eternity, she's going out of the mortal coil in style, and she wants me by her side for it all. I don't want to have her take this step, but we both have accepted that it is the best option for us. I can't blame her, and God knows I can't face the alternative, but I don't have to like it much.

*Beth*  
He rubs my knuckles the entire way back, clearly anxious, but not wanting to talk about it. By the time we return to the hotel, I can hardly contain my enthusiasm. Mick had already said that he was going to stop at the bar again, while I head upstairs to get ready. I can hardly wait till he sees what I have planned.  
Finally, I make my way upstairs to the honeymoon suite, after nodding a quick greeting to Josef in the bar. Smiling, I put on the lovely black satin negligee I'd chosen for tonight. I just wish he'd hurry up and get up here- my hands are shakier than they were the night we finally made love for the first time, if that's possible. But I'll never forget how wonderful that was, and I know tonight will be just as perfect.

*Mick*  
After another drink with Josef in the bar to steel my nerves, I head upstairs. I can hear her humming, then singing, "Memory"- from Cats. I wonder about that choice- it's a rather melancholy song, and not one I'd have expected her to be singing tonight, but her voice is as beautiful as ever, and the whole situation makes me smile.

I never expected what I see when I walk in. She's got candles lit around the room, and she's sitting on the bed, dressed in nothing but a black negligee and a huge smile.

"So glad you could join me!" she says, the invitation to come even closer more obvious than it had to be.

Quickly, I take my shirt off, wanting to enjoy the feel of the satin negligee against my chest. The pants follow, replaced by my favorite white silk PJ bottoms. Only then do I join her on the bed, sinking myself into a large pile of pillows that have been placed against the wall and pulling her onto my lap. "I'm glad you invited me, Mrs. St. John." Softly, I turn her face to me, and kiss her. The storm of emotions welling up in me is almost more than I can stand, and I don't want her to see it. Not that I could hide it right at the moment.

*Beth*  
He's worried about tonight- will it turn out alright, or will we have made some huge mistake? Will I be the person I am now after it's over? I've asked myself the same thing- but there is only one option. The one we've chosen. Our future is together- and it starts now.

"You know how much I want this, don't you? How much I want to be with you forever?" I whisper the words to him, hoping to calm his fears.  
*Mick*  
The words chill me as no others could, though I know she means well. "I do- but it can't hurt to wait a few minutes longer, can it?" I whisper in response. We have the rest of the night for this, and I want to enjoy the last few moments I have with her. There are so many things that will be forever changed when this night is over- things I don't want to forget as the centuries pass. The sound of her heartbeat, tripping just a little as I admire her; the tinge of blush that has blanketed her cheek as she becomes just a teensy bit angry at me for delaying; the very delicate scent of cocoanut and vanilla that is only "Beth"… they're all about to disappear, and oh, how I wish I could save them.

"I suppose it can't hurt." She says, smiling an indulgent smile and brushing a kiss across my lips.

We lounge there for a long time, my arms cradling her as I memorize everything about this moment. The feeling of her heartbeat against me is almost too much and I cry a few tears. She feels one of them on her bare shoulder and turns to me, a smile on her face. "No tears allowed, Baby. This is the most important night of our lives, and I don't want you to be sad. We have so much to look forward to."

I can't help myself. This is so right in some ways- the only viable option, if I'm being honest with myself- but the memories of my first wedding night have haunted me off and on all day. Do I really want to pollute this one, too? Staring into her azure eyes for a long moment, I feel those dark memories fading- only this moment matters now, and it's so much different from that night that I can't even describe it. She's made up her own mind about this, while I had no choice. That makes all the difference. I'd been entranced by the thought of being with Coraline forever- but I never realized how literally she meant that. Beth knows exactly what she's up against- and she is reveling in the possibilities. She has been since Christmas.

"I want this, Mick- more than you can imagine. I trust you." She says, as she tilts her head just a bit, giving me a glimpse of the vein I intend to use. Trying to steady my nerves, I watch that tiny vein, playing its way up towards her head, her heartbeat sending pulses through it. Slowly, my fangs descend and my eyes begin to change.

That's all I need. I whisper in her ear "I love you, Babe- I'll see you on the other side." With that, I bite down on her throat, hoping to make it painless for her, but painfully out of practice. She gasps a bit at the feel of my fangs, but I can feel the pleasure building in her almost instantly as I begin to feed. As her spicy blood pools in my mouth, I focus on what I need to do. I coach myself carefully: focus on control- take just enough blood but not too much. Listen for the slowing of her heart. Try to remember why you're doing this, but do not focus on the reality.

It takes a couple of minutes to drain her, and every second comes with a flood of powerful emotions. As I feel her heart begin to slow, I can finally feel a sense of peace settling in- like a gift from the God she is so close to right now.

As she begins to fade, she whispers my name and a final "I love you" of her own before she closes those brilliant eyes, her heartbeat slowing to almost nothing. There's no chance to stop this now, so I steel myself for what I have to do.

Working quickly, I gently lay her down on the bed and nip my arm- letting the blood drip onto her lips and watching it trickle past them. She licks her lips as she feels it there- and I place my wrist on top of her mouth, allowing her the option of feeding and praying that she'll do what she has to do. I can't lose her now. I close my eyes and wait for the instinct to take over, praying that it will. The moment of waiting seems to last for an eternity, rather than a few seconds.

*Beth*  
Everything about this moment is so perfectly "Mick"- even the pull of him as he feeds on me is just as gentle as his touch, and every bit as strong. I can almost feel some small part of his heart breaking as he does it, but it doesn't stop him. He'd always said this was for me- I guess I never realized how deeply he felt that until now. I thread my fingers through his hair, encouraging him to continue, basking in the pleasure of what is to come. I've been giddy as a school girl over this for months- I can hardly wait to feel my own fangs! The thought brings a smile to my face, as he drains me completely. I know he will sense the excitement, and I can only hope that it will give him strength.

Finally, unable to fight the pull of the darkness looming over my shoulder any longer, my eyes close, and it's up to him. I know he will see me through the rest.

When I feel the trickle of his blood on my lips a moment later, some well hidden instinct kicks in. I lap at the first drops, then gently wrap my mouth around the wound in his wrist, sucking like a hungry infant. The taste is like nothing I've ever experienced- almost like liquid gold- and knowing that the moment is uniting us for eternity makes it pure ecstasy. This moment is our true wedding- we both know that. The future is now. That's why I chose to do this tonight.

I let myself relish the moment, falling into an almost hypnotic state as I drink, my thoughts padded in visions of peace and happiness until he suddenly removes his wrist from my mouth, gathering me against his bare chest again as if he's trying to buffer me against the real world. I look up at him for a moment, thanking him and begging him to see that I'm alright. He smiles at me, then returns his focus to my neck, so I let my eyes close as he drains me again. This time, there is no hesitation when he offers me his wrist. I can see the smile of relief on his face and sense it in the blood as it passes between us- for all the fighting he did when I suggested this, he's at peace now that it's happening, thank God.

It continues like that for the rest of the night- just the two of us in the dimly lit room, rocking together to the rhythm of the music playing at a café somewhere outside, sitting against the pile of pillows on the bed, first giving, then receiving the blood from each other. I couldn't have asked for more. Even knowing that there are bound to be bumps in the road after this, I'm not afraid, because our future has never looked brighter.


End file.
